sunday eye

‘Architecture can and should be more than the province of the privileged’: Martino Stierli

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The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, exhibition, “The Project of Independence: Architectures of Decolonization in South Asia, 1947-1985”, that continues till July, comprises over 200 works from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka , and includes sketches, drawings, photographs, films and architectural models. In this interview, Martino Stierli, The Philip Johnson chief curator … Read more

When Pasoori dancer Sheema Kermani used sari and dance to defy Zia regime in Pakistan

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In Pasoori (meaning conflict), Coke Studio’s recent music video in Technicolor that has India and Pakistan bonding over its Punjabi lyrics and pulsating rhythm, one spots a dancer, in a big black bindi and temple-border mustard sari. She comes and goes, swivelling in an old Karachi haveli gracefully, to a mellifluous jugalbandi between Pakistan’s Ali … Read more

Sunday Long Reads: The success of South Indian films, learning to be comfortable in one’s own skin, Abhay K’s ode to nature, and more

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Is the success of recent films from the south teaching Bollywood a lesson or two in positioning and storytelling? “Movies from the south are gold at the box office”. “Bollywood has forgotten how to make movies.” These two statements have been tossed out so frequently during the last six months, that even hardened sceptics have … Read more

In the memory of my aunt Asha, who taught me to be comfortable in my own skin

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This past week dealt my family and me another blow, but with it came rich lessons in life and living. I lost my Asha Bua, a lifelong resident of Bombay (now Mumbai), to old age, in Bengaluru. Almost 90, she possessed energy and enthusiasm that couldn’t be matched by a nine-year-old in the best of … Read more

Is the success of recent films from the south teaching Bollywood a lesson or two in positioning and storytelling?

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“Movies from the south are gold at the box office”. “Bollywood has forgotten how to make movies.” These two statements have been tossed out so frequently during the last six months, that even hardened sceptics have suspended disbelief. Just what is going on? Most industry experts say only two Bollywood films made their top 2021 … Read more